I've found Documentary Film: A Very Short Introduction by Patricia  
Aufderdeide to be quite useful and smart.


Janna Jones
Director, Cinema and Visual Culture Studies
Associate Professor, School of Communication
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, Arizona

On Oct 6, 2009, at 9:01 PM, Frank, Michael wrote:

> i have a student who wants to do an extended term paper on  
> "documentary and representation" -- a topic about which i know  
> precious little since all my work is on fiction film . . . i'm  
> wondering if anyone on the list can direct me to some useful  
> introductions to the topic or explorations of it accessible to a  
> general reader
>
>
>
> i should point out that my student, although very bright and  
> dedicated, is studying business -- and is taking my cinema class  
> simply to satisfy a requirement -- which means that she has no  
> background in these areas, or even in the conventions of liberal  
> arts inquiry . . . so i'm hoping for something that, while not  
> dumbing down a complex topic, is written so that with effort   
> beginners can make sense of it
>
>
>
> thanks in advance for suggestions
>
>
>
> mike
>
> ----
> To sign off Screen-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF  
> Screen-L
> in the message.  Problems?  Contact [log in to unmask]

----
Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite
http://www.ScreenSite.org